Watch this video about a chameleon.
It is a lizard that lives in the desert.
Video Transcript
We know chameleons as tree dwellers but clearly the Namakwa is not your average chameleon. To survive here it too has developed an extraordinary heat avoidance tactic. Like all chameleons it can change its skin color. However its color changes are not just about communication or camouflage. Here the Namaquah uses colour to regulate its body temperature. Following a cool desert night, the cold-blooded chameleon flattens its dull grey body, angling itself towards the rising sun, absorbing the warmth of the early rays.
But as the sun grows higher and hotter, and with nowhere to hide, the Namaquah undergoes a colour transformation. By turning a brilliant white, it now no longer absorbs the sun, but can reflect it. An efficient thermostat. This astounding animal has taken an ability to change colour and adapted it to regulate its temperature. A neat example of evolution at work.
But this is not the only way in which the Namaqwa differs from its forest dwelling relatives. Rather than the fused feet used by tree climbers to grip branches, this lizard is able to splay its toes wide. Not only does this prevent the indignity of sinking into the sand, but But it also affords this chameleon something that its relatives lack.
Speed.
And when the ground below you is searingly hot, it doesn't do any good to hang around.